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muttered his usual oh dear me ’s.
    â€œNow,” Nevery said, still glowering. “Go away.”
    I ducked out of Benet’s grip and headed for the door.
    â€œNot you , boy,” Nevery said, using his exasperated voice. “Them.” He pointed.
    Benet opened the door, and the magisters scuttled out and down the stairs.
    Nevery settled behind his desk again and looked me up and down. “Trouble, and somehow you’re in the thick of it again. I don’t know what to do with you, boy.”
    â€œYou don’t have to do anything, Nevery,” I said. On my shoulder, Pip woke up and puffed out a cloud of smoke.
    â€œHave a word with the captain,” Benet said, from behind me.
    â€œAh. A very good idea, Benet. I shall. Fetch my hat, cloak, and cane.”
    â€œYes, sir,” Benet said, and left the room.
    A word with the captain , Benet had said. “A word with Captain Kerrn?” I asked. “Why?”
    Nevery glanced at me from under his bushy eyebrows, but didn’t answer. Instead he got to his feet and went to the door. Benet met him on the stairs and handed him his things.
    Benet gave me a buttered biscuit.
    â€œCome along, boy,” Nevery said, putting on his wide-brimmed hat.
    â€œWhere’re we going?” I asked. I put the biscuit into my coat pocket. Pip cocked its head, as if it was waiting to see what Nevery would say.
    Nevery said something in a low voice to Benet, then put on his cloak and swept-stepped down the stairs. “You’ll see when we get there,” he said.
    Oh. I followed Nevery down the stairs and out into the cobbled courtyard. The rain had stopped, but the sky was thick with gray clouds, and a morning fog hovered over the river, making the Twilight and the Sunrise banks invisible. Brown leaves covered the big tree in the middle of the courtyard, and a few black-and-white birds perched in the highest branches, like lookouts.
    I dodged a pile of roof slates and ran a couple of steps to catch up to Nevery. “Why are you going to have a word with Kerrn?” I asked.
    â€œYou will be living in the Dawn Palace. Captain Kerrn must be told to keep an eye on you.”
    â€œNevery!” I protested. That was a terrible idea. Kerrn hated me! She’d put a guard on my every move! And I was not going to live in the Dawn Palace.
    â€œListen, boy,” Nevery growled. “We’ve got locus stone thefts and a crowd of idiot magisters who think you are the thief. Something is going on, and you’re involved in it, somehow.” He swirled to a stop. “ And there’s this attack,” he said, pointing at my bruised face. He lowered his voice, as if talking to himself. “I will not lose you again, Connwaer.” Then he glowered at me from under his bushy eyebrows. “If it means sending you away from Heartsease, then so be it.”
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    Nevery kept a keen eye on me as we crossed the bridge and headed to the Dawn Palace, which sat at the top of the hill like a huge, pink-frosted cake. A chill wind from the river followed us, ruffling my hair and making Nevery’s cloak swirl around him. We crunched down the drive and up the wide front stairs, where two palace guards stopped us. We waited just inside the door while one of them went to fetch Rowan.
    â€œI hate this, Nevery,” I growled.
    â€œIt’s to keep you safe, boy,” he growled back.
    To me, safe meant never doing anything interesting .
    At the sound of footsteps, I looked up. Rowan, followed by Miss Dimity, who carried a stack of papers.
    Seeing my bruised face, Rowan’s eyes widened. “Oh, Conn!” she said.
    â€œIt looks worse than it is,” I said.
    She stepped closer and put her hand to my cheek. “It looks awful. What happened?”
    I shrugged and listened as Nevery told her about the attackers in the courtyard outside Heartsease. “He’ll be safer in the Dawn Palace,” Nevery said.
    Rowan